Murray stays perfect; Nadal hits 50 in Barcelona
BARCELONA: Andy Murray made it 11 wins in 11 meetings with Feliciano Lopez while Rafael Nadal racked up a 50th win in Barcelona as the two Grand Slam heavyweights reached the last eight Thursday.
World No.1 Murray, playing his first match of the week after Australia’s Bernard Tomic scratched from their scheduled opener with injury, downed Lopez 6-4, 6-4.
His win in one hour and 49 minutes extended his perfect record over the left-handed Lopez to 11-0, a run which now includes two wins on clay.
Murray will next face 10th seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas, the player who shocked him in the Monte Carlo Masters third round last week.
Ramos-Vinolas defeated sixth seeded compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
“I was happy to play today. It was nice to get through and have another match tomorrow,” said Murray.
“I didn’t feel so good at the start, but I played good tennis in some of the important moments today.”
Nadal moved closer to a 10th Barcelona title when he cruised past South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-4 for a 50th victory in the BUCHAREST, Romania: Ilie Nastase made an attempt at apologizing for his comments about Serena Williams and his outburst during a Fed Cup match.
The 70-year-old tennis great posted a statement on Facebook a week after he speculated about the skin color of the baby the pregnant Williams is expecting.
“At the press conference, I was asked what opinion I had about Serena being pregnant. I then found out for the first time (she was pregnant) and my reaction was spontaneous,” said Nastase, who is the captain of Romania’s Fed Cup team.
Nastase also said Williams was “one of the greatest players of all times and I know how much work goes into achieving these results.”
Williams is black and her fiance, Alexis Ohanian, is white.
Nastase was also criticized for swearing at player Johanna Konta and Britain captain Anne Keothavong during a Fed Cup match. He said he would not try to “defend my words, but I assure you that behind them was my desire to defend the interests of the Romanian team and Romanian tennis.”
Romania won the best-of-five series 3-2, but Nastase was banned by the International Tennis Federation.
Nastase called tennis not a sport but Spanish city.
“It wasn’t a day where I took a lot of free points because the court was very heavy. But I was serving well, at a good speed and changing directions well,” said Nadal, playing on a court named after him.
“I had the chance to hit my forehand after my serve and take control of the rallies, so I’m very happy with how I played.”
Third seed Nadal, fresh from a 10th Monte Carlo triumph at the weekend, next faces South Korean qualifier Chung Hyeon who stunned German eighth seed Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-4.
The 20-year-old Chung, who has yet to drop a set this week, is through to his first quarterfinal since Houston in April 2016.
Japanese lucky loser Yuichi Sugita reached the last eight with a 6-3, 6-3 win over seventh seed Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain.
Having already earned the biggest victory of his career on Tuesday by defeating France’s world No. 23 Richard Gasquet, Sugita scored a new career-best by breaking the Spaniard three times.
“It was my best win. It’s unbelievable,” said 28-year-old Sugita. “This was very important for my life, so I’m really glad about it.”
Sugita next faces Austrian fourth seed Dominic Thiem, a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 winner over Dan Evans of Britain. “my life,” saying his outburst meant “I managed to do what I didn’t imagine was possible, to feel that tennis was slipping away from me.”
“I know that nothing can really excuse my words, nor a high-level match, not the non-conformist attitude I am now known for, not the unfortunate amplification of the situation,” he said. “My life remains dedicated to tennis and its public, and I ask you to accept, as much as is possible, my apologies.”
Despite the apology, he also took another shot at Konta.
“I think what happened was exaggerated from all sides. Nonetheless, Johanna Konta should not have spoken with the chair umpire, that’s what the team captain does,” Nastase said. “I asked her in a civilized way for some explanations and she sent me to the tribune where I was removed as captain. After this, the umpire suspended the match. I don’t know why the match was suspended.”
Nastase earned the nickname “Nasty” for his on-court outbursts and gamesmanship in his playing heyday in the 1970s. But it also described his game, which earned him two Grand Slam singles titles and more than 100 ATP titles. He’s a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.